


Misaligned

by FireFlySlick



Category: Fire Emblem Heroes, Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Angst, Dark, Drama, Drama & Romance, Heavy Angst, Multi, Murder, Post-Time Skip, Pre-Time Skip, Romance, Time Travel, Yandere
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-09
Updated: 2020-12-18
Packaged: 2021-03-03 21:26:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 8
Words: 20,214
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24632287
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FireFlySlick/pseuds/FireFlySlick
Summary: After Edelgard wakes up a decade in the past, she begins to realize that she is not within her own timeline. Anything that could be off, seemed to be so. Her family is alive and well, and her own sworn-enemy, Dimitri, is actually her friend. All is well until she realizes that her wife, Byleth, is wholly in love with someone else entirely...Once learning this, Edelgard quickly realizes that she will do anything to get back to her own timeline.Anything at all
Relationships: Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd/My Unit | Byleth, Dorothea Arnault/Petra Macneary, Edelgard von Hresvelg/My Unit | Byleth
Comments: 22
Kudos: 64





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> So I just need to start this by giving a huge thanks to AMX_Qubeley. (https://archiveofourown.org/users/AMX004_Qubeley/profile) She came up with the premise of, "Edelgard gets Flashpointed to the past, and Byleth isn't in love with her, and wants to get her back."  
> I asked if I could steal the idea for my own nefarious purposes, and she was cool with it! Go give her some love.  
> She deserves it after what I'm about to do to her wholesome story premise.

As the subtle sound of quill on paper filled the air, Edelgard quietly pondered when the sound was going to drive her insane.

It had been the only noise she had heard for roughly two hours at this point, and even when she had stopped writing, whether to think, or to re-dip her pen, she could have sworn she still heard that subtle, infuriating scritch.

Realizing that at this point, her sanity was temporarily at risk, she sets the quill aside, next to what felt like an eternally growing stack of papers. She sets her elbows on her desk, and rests her head against her hands. Part of her is rather upset at the fact that she's not finishing her work at that very second. But the other part of her taps into the logic of her wife,  _ It's not as if this land dispute needs to be done tonight, love, the assembly for it isn't for another five days. _

She chuckles to herself. She's so used to her wife's speech that she even knows exactly where she would call her, "love."

She looks around at her desk, eyeing each paper with the candlelight. Her internal wife had a point. Though her desk seemed like an absolute mess of papers and work, she had organized her desk, and for the whole part, her office in such a way that she knew where absolutely everything was. 

She looks to her left, seeing a shorter stack of papers. She identified it as the work that had to be done within four weeks, but she knew she could get it all done in three, two-and-a-half if she was really going at it. 

To her right, is a much larger stack. That was work that was either done, or nearly done. Barring the records that would need to be taken, -and even then, that wasn’t necessarily her job- it was a largely complete stack that was sitting there simply because Edelgard couldn’t be bothered to deal with it at that moment. She resolves to deal with it the next day, hoping that she actually remembers to.

Edelgard lets out a breath, and concedes to her wife's logic, even though it is completely in her head. She lifts her head away from the desk, and stretches her arms out over her, now determined to take a break.

After pushing her chair away from the desk, she stands, nearly fumbling over, a mix of her legs being overtired, and a scar on her thigh flaring up causing the mis-balance. She hadn't realized how tired her legs were. She had no idea why, though. It was not as if this day had any more significant walking than any other in the past week; or perhaps that was just her issue. 

She gives herself a moment to think about the last couple of days, as well as to allow her scar to calm, and she does realize that her more recent walking would likely be determined to be hiking given a different environment than the capital of the Adrestian Empire.

Once she regains her balance, she lets out a small sigh, and makes her way out of the study. She takes care to blow the candle out as she leaves. She knows at least on a subconscious level that she does not want to return there for the rest of the night.

As she leaves her office, she looks out an open window. The Summer night’s sky was crystal clear, with not a single cloud within sight, and the stars shining brightly onto the land before her. 

She hadn't even realized it was night until just then. Edelgard had made a point to close the windows as the sun was setting, and the position of her desk had it so the sun was shining directly in her eyes. Her mind then realizes that Byleth had set up her study, and part of her wonders if Byleth had done that on purpose. It wasn't unlike her, and if nothing else, did pull her away from her work, albeit only for a moment to simply close the window.

At that moment, she was walking aimlessly, simply allowing her thoughts to venture wherever they desired. Occasionally she would look at a piece of art that hung in the otherwise barren hall. She had grown rather fond of her growing collection. Every emperor before her had some kind of collection of something, and her’s just so happened to be art. 

Her thoughts at that particular moment were blank, however, it had seemed she had noticed her aimlessness right as she was outside her bedroom. At this time, she figured her wife is either asleep, or getting ready for bed.

A twinge of guilt fills her as she thinks back to the previous few nights. Every night this week she had come to bed late, and missed Byleth before she fell asleep.

She makes up her mind, and quietly opens the door. She notices a soft candlelight coming from a white wooden vanity. Edelgard steps in, making sure to keep her footsteps soft. First, she looks toward the center of the room, where a cleanly made bed laid atop an immaculately crafted wooden frame and head. Swiveling her head, eyeing the vanity to the left, and the large dresser to her right, she sees no one inside the room. She tilts her head at its emptiness, and wonders just where Byleth had gone to.

It was then that she felt a subtle breeze coming from the balcony. She glances over to it, and notices that the door to the balcony is open.

She enters the room, softly shutting the door behind her. After kicking a pair of slippers off of her feet, she makes her way towards the balcony.

"Byleth? Are you out here, darling?" Edelgard softly calls out.

Edelgard is met with a soft, "Hm?" as Byleth looks up from her book, and sees Edelgard. A smile forms on Byleth's face in an instant once she notices Edelgard.

The smile brings a warmth to Edelgard's heart. It was a warmth that never grew old, and one that met her every single time her wife smiled, or hell, any time she saw her.

She can't stop her lips from curling up to return the gesture.

"I'll be honest, I didn't expect you to come out of your dungeon so soon." Byleth laughs at her own dry humour.

Edelgard rolls her eyes at the comment, "Well, I suppose if I'm interrupting something I can go back and finish this land-"

"No no!" Byleth sets her book down on the thick stone rail, and grabs Edelgard's hand, firmly gripping it, "I think I'd like you to stay out here."

Edelgard laughs, and holds her wife's hand, "That's what I thought." She sits down next to her love on the thin but plush bench, and before she knows it, she's resting her head on Byleth's shoulders, completely content with her position, albeit quite annoyed with herself for not coming out here earlier.

"It was really nice to see everyone today," Byleth breaks the momentary silence that had hung for a few minutes.

"Definitely. Petra and Dorothea seem really happy," Edelgard laughs before continuing, "especially happier than last time they came here."

"When Dorothea discovered the terrors of sunburns?" Byleth attempts not to laugh at her past-student's misery, but a chuckle breaks out never-the-less.

Edelgard doesn't quite have the same tact, laughing as she responds, "Yes. Oh gods, she looked like a tomato."

Byleth couldn't hold her laughter back at that one. She had to give Dorothea credit though. It was her first major sunburn since living in Brigid, and she handled it rather well all things considered.

"I will say, after seeing the tan she has, I think we need to organize a visit to Brigid," Byleth smiles down to Edelgard.

Edelgard was not the biggest fan of vacations. They never suited her, and in the end, she would always feel bad that she wasn't working. Even after their five years of marriage, Byleth still couldn't quite crack that.

Without giving it much thought, she looks down, and sees just how pale her skin was. On second thought...

"Sounds like it could make a lovely Anniversary trip," Edelgard winks to Byleth, before looking out at the night's sky before her once again.

"Oh? You almost sound like you want something truly romantic for a change," Byleth giggles to herself.

Edelgard huffs, pulling away just enough to glare at her wife, albeit with a smile still holding through, "I am plenty romantic!"

"I might almost believe that, had you not forgotten our Anniversary last year."

Edelgard pauses, and pouts back into her wife's shoulder, "I said I was sorry..." Edelgard whispers.

Byleth cackles, and rubs her wife's arm.

"In my defense, I forgot my birthday last year as well. The dates all meld together. If we didn't have calendars, I'd probably forget the month."

Byleth chuckles, and gives Edelgard a little shrug. If nothing else, she did have a point. Her mind thinks of a witty joke to tell her wife, mostly at her expense, but she decides to put aside, and think of Brigid once more.

"You know one thing about Brigid?" Byleth asks after barely a moment of relaxing silence.

Edelgard is almost suspicious of the change of subject, but welcomes it once she realizes it might help her dig herself out of the hole she placed herself in, "What would that be?"

"They make beautiful clothes."

Edelgard gives herself a moment to think about it. She had not seen many pieces of clothing from Brigid. She had only ever seen Petra's garments, and more recently, Dorothea's. Though, once she thinks of it, she realizes just how dashing the dresses were.

Just today, Dorothea had worn a ravishing dress, dark red in color, and frilly with almost every bit of fabric going down from Dorothea's waist.

"I suppose they do. Dorothea's dress was rather nice. Imagine getting to see Petra in one of those," Edelgard lets out a laugh at the image of Petra in a dress like Dorothea's. It seems like nothing but an impossibility to her.

"Oh? What about me in a dress like that?" Byleth looks to her wife. An emotion slowly creeping into her eyes. It was one that Edelgard couldn't quite place at that moment.

A soft, but bright smile comes to Edelgard's face as she imagines it.

She thinks about what kind of dress Byleth would wear. Likely one shorter than what Dorothea wore, most definitely some shade of dark grey, but the design of what the dress could look like eluded her. All she knew is that it would be nothing but gorgeous.

"It would be the ninth wonder of the world."

Byleth blushes softly, and smiles. She looks down to her wife, and pulls a hand to Edelgard's chin. She pulls her face towards her's, and meets her with a kiss.

The kiss felt like it didn't last long enough. They never did. With that being said, it was always the happiest Edelgard could ever be. She was always happy close to Byleth, but especially so like this.

Once Byleth pulls away, she whispers, "I don't have a dress, but I do have something from Brigid."

"Oh?" Edelgard whispers back, completely starstruck at this point.

"Mmhmm, asked Dorothea to bring it from Brigid as a gift for you."

Edelgard was most definitely interested at this point. How could she not be?

"Stay right here," Byleth whispers before standing, and entering the bedroom, "and don't peak!"

Edelgard laughed and looked out to the clear night's sky once more. Happiness built up within her as she tried to imagine just what Byleth was going to put on. She knew vaguely what it would be. But her imagination went crazy as she tries to think precisely what Byleth would request.

Something veiled? Perhaps netted? Her mind ran through different ideas, but none satisfied her like the real thing would.

"Alright, you can come in now," Byleth calls out from inside.

Edelgard smiles, and makes her way into the bedroom, when she sees Byleth, and freezes.

To say beautiful, felt almost like an insult. Like the most grave understatement she could make. Edelgard couldn't quite find the words to describe just how gorgeous her wife looked.

Byleth had let her hair hang behind her. A silky white top covered Byleth's breasts, however barely, and from the top, hung a thin veil of a similar color. The veil hung down to Byleth's bare thighs, but did nothing to hide the undergarments which did nothing to cover Byleth's heat; as there was a hole directly in the center of the panties.

Edelgard looks Byleth up and down, before doing it again, and then giving her wife just one more look, before realizing that at some point, she had passed away, and she had gone to paradise.

Byleth bites her lower lip, and lets out a smile to Edelgard as she approaches the bed. She gestures to it, beckoning her to come to her.

Edelgard was already making work of removing her top as she approached the bed. The plain top hits the carpet with an unceremonious thud. By the time she was sitting on the edge of the mattress, her pants were laying on the floor, and before she knew it, her wife was on top of her as she lay on the bed, kissing her wife with a passion that always seemed to surprise herself. 

As Byleth's hand crept between Edelgard's legs, brushing over one of her scars, for just a moment, she realizes that come the next morning, her body, and specifically her scars, are going to hurt like hell. It was nothing she couldn't handle. She had dealt with it before, and she knew damn well that the pleasure of the night was going to be worth it all and more. 

Besides, the pain was for future-Edelgard to deal with.


	2. Chapter 2

The lack of pain was agonizing.

Edelgard lay in bed, curled up tightly in a ball. She was shaking violently as her thoughts looped in her head. The thoughts said the same three words.

_This isn't home._

It wasn't her home at all.

Instead of a rather large master bedroom that lay on one of the higher floors of the Adrestian Capital's castle, she was in a room she only barely noticed. The room was tidied, and quaint. Rather cozy, even.

But at that moment, it was nothing but cramped. The walls felt as if they were closing in on Edelgard, as her heart pounds in her chest. She wanted to run, to get out of this room, and out of this damned place. As much as she wanted to, her body outright refused to move.

It had started when she awoke in a different bed than usual. It wasn't as comfortable, but it was so familiar, that at first she didn't even question it. Then she took notice of the sheets and blanket. They weren't her's. Her eyes shot open to see the walls. They were a grey stone brick, with the only break being a large bulletin board.

The board had a calendar on one half, and a schedule on the other. It was peculiar, especially due to the date, but it was familiar.

That alone was enough to ring her anxiety's bell, and to drive her mad as she realized that she was not home. 

Then she fully notices that her wife was not lying in bed next to her, the question of where Byleth was awoke an old panic she never thought she would have to fear again.

In that moment, she threw her blankets and sheets off of her. She laid naked in bed, the one thing she expected after the night prior was that, but it did her no comfort as she looked down at herself.

Her skin was pristine.

To any other girl, this would be normal. To some, it would be a blessing.

For Edelgard, the only thing it did was the drive question, "Just what the fuck is going on?" in her mind in another loop. Her thin form and pale skin was clean, and lacked a single scar. She felt at her back, there was nothing there either.

As she looked at her body, a length of her hair fell in front of her face. When she notices the color, a deep brown as opposed to the normal silver, it just stacked onto the list of things that were not at all correct.

Something had happened, and for the first time, Edelgard was caught completely off-guard.

This was not home. It wasn't even in the Adrestian Empire.

It was in Garreg Mach.

Her panic attack came in swift and heavy waves as she lay naked on the now messy bed. Her mind felt as if it was in pieces. Not a single thing was right, and she could not find a single answer to any of her questions.

As murmuring peeps through the heavy wooden door, Edelgard's head snaps to the noise and the only thing she could think to do was grab the covers and hide in the corner. It wouldn't do anything, she knew it, but it was the only thing that came to mind.

More speaking, closer this time. She can make out two voices, but can’t make out what they're saying. 

One voice is a smooth alto, the other a deep baritone. Both seem more than familiar, but familiarity at this point was terrifying to her.

"Uh... Edie? You in there? Class is in ten minutes," The alto shouted through the door as a knock rang in the room. Both sounds were deafening. Too loud, even though in reality they were no louder than a conversation.

"Lady Edelgard, are you not feeling well?" The next voice was too familiar for her to misplace.

"H-Hubert?" Edelgard can only manage a whisper. Her voice was not loud enough to pierce the door. It barely would have cleared half the small bedroom.

A few seconds of silence hang in the air.

To Edelgard it feels like an eternity.

Finally, the first voice speaks up again, "Hey, we're coming in, alright?"

Edelgard's heart feels as if it'll explode when the door opens.

But it doesn't stop the door. It swings open rather quickly. Much more quickly than Edelgard would have liked. Once it's open, light bleeds into the room, more light than the window above her was letting in before, and it blinds Edelgard for only a moment as she sees two figures enter the room.

"D-Dorothea?" Edelgard manages to croak out.

Dorothea's face goes from friendly and concerned to panicked in the fraction of a second, "Oh gods! Edie, what's wrong?!"

Edelgard flinches as Dorothea darts closer. Once Dorothea was close though, the only thing she did was lean in close enough to inspect Edelgard, and make sure she wasn't hurt.

"Edelgard, talk to me. What happened?" Dorothea tries to calm her voice as much as possible, but her own low-level panic made it difficult.

"Lady Edelgard, has someone hurt you!?" Hubert says, not realizing that he's not helping.

Edelgard attempts to say something, anything at this point. Instead, the only thing that leaves her mouth in a bunch of stammered sounds that swiftly devolved into crying. Once tears started to stream down her face, she collapses against the wall next to her bed.

Hubert could only stand there, completely flabbergasted at the sight. He had never seen Edelgard like this. He had frozen.

Dorothea was quick to act. Upon noticing that her friend was crying, Dorothea gently pulled closer, and drew Edelgard into a comforting embrace.

It was the first comfort that Edelgard could recognize, and as such she melts into it. She doesn't even notice as the sheets fall off of her, revealing herself. Even if she did notice, she likely wouldn't have cared anyway. Nothing was right in this world so, what was this?

"Oh, gods, and you're naked, okay... H-Hubert!" She peaks her head over, red as a rose as she holds Edelgard closely, "go get some help! Get the professor!"

"B-Byleth? Where's Byleth?" Edelgard finally strings actual words together.

Hubert grows even more confused at that. Why would she be asking for her?

"Wha-? Never mind, she's about to teach her class," Dorothea answers, looking back to Edelgard, "Do you want us to go get her?"

She nods frantically.

Hubert nods, "I'll go bring her here. Dorothea, can you… Make Lady Edelgard decent?"

"I'll try, just give me some time," she turns her head to Edelgard again, "hey hey, you're alright. You're okay."

If only it was true.

Minutes passed before Edelgard began to calm down. Dorothea's hushes and sweet words could only do much, but, at least they were something. Something good in this twisted reality.

Dorothea wasn't able to do much else. It felt almost as if she was glued to Edelgard with how tight she was being held. Dorothea had seen this kind of thing before, what with working with several young songstresses over the years, but this was worse than anything she had ever seen.

After the tears began to fall more slowly, Dorothea finally makes an effort to separate from Edelgard. She pulls away slowly, and whispers a question, "How about we get some clothes on you, alright?"

Edelgard had given up on trying to form words any longer. Her mind refused to allow her the simplest of words since she managed to say her wife's name. Knowing this, she can only nod, and weakly at that.

Dorothea gives Edelgard a soft smile, before walking over to Edelgard's drawers. She quickly finds a shirt and leggings for Edelgard to cover herself with, and hands them to Edelgard. 

She hadn't expected she would ever be helping her friend get dressed like this.

Almost in the nick of time, upon Edelgard being clothed, Hubert and Byleth walked into the room. 

Once she sees her, Edelgard's eyes light up, and more tears begin to fall down her face, this time, tinged with happiness and relief at knowing her wife is alive.

"Byleth! Thank heavens."

Byleth doesn't even time to react before Edelgard is forcing her into a tight embrace. At first, she's completely shocked, but it doesn't take her long before Byleth is returning the gesture, albeit incredibly weakly.

For a moment longer, Byleth is silent, before she finally thinks of something to say, "I'm safe. You're alright. Can you tell me what happened?"

Edelgard stammers a jumble of sentences off, but none are quite loud enough, or really make any sense. 

Confusion was beginning to take over even the air of the room. Byleth looks up to Dorothea, seemingly questioning her with her eyes. Dorothea shrugs with as much confusion as Byleth, "Hubert and I noticed she wasn't in class, and decided to check on her. When we got here, she was curled up in the corner."

Byleth thinks for a moment, still awkwardly holding Edelgard as she does, "Alright... I'll keep an eye on her. Will one of you let Seteth know that I need him to fill in for my class for now? I know you're late, but I'll make sure Professor Manuela is made aware of everything. Thank you both."

Hubert nods, and bows, "Of course, Professor."

Dorothea only gives a: "Thanks," before leaving hesitantly.

Edelgard was confused to say the least, but it wasn't new, and her mind was in no position to make any sense of the world at the moment.

Byleth gives Edelgard another minute to calm down, and once the tears manage to stop, she asks, "Okay, can you tell me what happened, Edelgard?"

The professor was incredibly stiff, and it was something that Edelgard noticed immediately. It wasn't right, just like the rest of the world. She tries to think of how to explain herself, but Byleth just felt different. She couldn't quite place it yet, but she wasn't right, either.

"W-well... We went to bed last night after speaking on the balcony. We... you know... I fell asleep, and then I woke up here... Gods, I just want to go home," Edelgard can't stop herself from tightening her embrace around Byleth.

"What!?" Byleth jerks away from the brown-haired girl. 

Edelgard freezes again. This couldn't be happening, there was no way. She tried to think of everything, trying to apply logic where it seems like it could never apply.

She thought back to Dorothea and Hubert.

They weren't themselves either. Hubert actually freezing? Impossible. Not to mention his hair, and his garbs. His hair covered half of his face. It was his signature look upon until the war demanded more depth perception.

And Dorothea? Didn't she lose that beret? Not a year into the war had passed before that had happened. A night raid on their camp, it was destroyed as well as all of Dorothea's supplies that she had brought to that particular camp.

Could she have... No, there was no way that could happen.

"Edelgard! Explain yourself!" Byleth shouts, anger creeping in where sympathy once lied.

Edelgard’s heart freezes.

That was the last sign she needed.

Now, she knew something bigger than her understanding was happening. It shouldn't have been possible, but here she was. 

"It was a night terror," Edelgard finally lied.

Byleth cocks her head, now somehow more confused than before.

"I have nightmares a lot... Tonight, it was like we were in the future, together... You and I were really close. Then," She pauses for a second, trying to think of something else, something else that would fit this new lie she was painting, "the death knight came. He split you in two. I was sick last night, and so it must have been more vivid than usual. It felt so real."

Byleth listens, but doesn't even expect what Edelgard told her to be a lie. She calms herself, and takes a breath, "The Death Knight? Nevermind that. As you can see, I'm here, in one piece, and you're alright. You can't let dreams do this to you, and... Might explain it was a dream before implying that you and I were _intimate_. That is incredibly inappropriate."

Edelgard nods, "Yes, I apologize. I'm just not feeling well, I wasn't thinking."

The Professor lets out another sigh, "I can tell. Do you think you'll be alright? I can escort you to the Infirmary if you'd like."

"N-no-No thank you. If I may, could I stay here for a while? Just, to collect my thoughts," Edelgard's words grow weaker as she continues.

She thinks on it for a second, "I suppose. I'll tell Professor Manuela that you're not feeling well, but I do expect you to return to class tomorrow at the latest."

"Of course. I'll do what I can to return to class after an hour or so. I'm sorry, Byle- I mean, Professor."

A breath escapes Byleth as she relaxes, "Alright, don't push yourself. I need to return to my class."

Edelgard nods, and after a few more seconds as both women read each other, the professor leaves, slowly shutting the door behind her.

Once alone again, her thoughts plague her. She knew what was happening, but it was impossible. Tears nearly well up in her eyes, but she resolves herself, and makes for the desk. Sitting atop it, was a leather-bound journal. Before she opens it, the looks up to the calendar.

It was The Verdant Rain Moon of Imperial Year 1180.

She opens the journal, flipping through the pages to find the most recent entry. The most recent entry was on 8/12. But that had to have been impossible. It was the Garland Moon of Imperial Year 1190.

Confusion and despair well up inside of her once again. She flips through the pages of the journal again, fruitlessly hoping they'll change the date to be correct. She looks up to the calendar, and then back to the journal. Thoughts ring inside of her head, and in a sudden burst, she slams the journal shut and throws it against the wall, swearing loudly as she does.

The action exerts all of her remaining energy, and she stumbles back, falling onto the floor below her.

She heaves as she curls up again. She tucks her head between her knees, and once more, tears fell down her face. The despair and confusion turned to rage, but it turned right back to sadness just as quickly.

While she cries, she tries to clear her thoughts. Finally make some sense of the situation. All that comes to her mind is a desire for her wife to come and hold her. Tell her everything will be okay and that they'll solve this together. She gives herself a few more minutes before looking up, and out the window. Her eyes, red and puffy from all of the crying, wince at the light.

Finally, a new thought comes to mind, The journal...

Energy flows back into her, and she darts for the book. Before she knows it, she's across the room, holding the now slightly bent diary in her hand, as she reads through it.

She skims mostly, trying to find something that could hint at what's happening; or perhaps clue her into what else could be different about this world.

There was already so much. This Byleth yelled at her, and seemed to have legitimate anger. She hadn't quite seen something like that from Byleth during her years of teaching. Once the war was over though, Byleth seemed to finally be more, well, for lack of a better term, human.

But even then, she seemed somewhat stunted, especially when it came to anger. Edelgard could only remember one time Byleth was angry enough to yell.

For some twisted reason she smiles at the memory. She can't remember what her and her wife were arguing about. All she could remember was Byleth yelling at her in a snap. Edelgard cried at it. She wasn't good at handling people yelling at her one on one. She had dealt with it in the Academy, but someone she loved? It was foreign, and it was terrifying.

In an instant, Byleth switched from angry, to concerned. Repeatedly and quickly apologizing, and forgetting what they were arguing about. Must not have been that important after all.

The main thing she took from it though, was the fact that Byleth swore to her, "I'll never yell again, I swear. I don't want to hurt you..."

Edelgard can almost feel the warm embrace her wife wrapped her in.

A rogue tear begins to form, but Edelgard wipes it away before it can run down her cheek.

If that wasn't enough, Dorothea and Hubert were visibly younger, not to mention their attire and hair. It was too convenient to be coincidence. Edelgard took these facts in, and truly realized...

Somehow, some way, she had ended up ten years in the past.

But it seemed to not be her past.

Between the lack of scars, her hair, and differences in her friends, things were different in this world. It was only being backed up in the journal. Things she would never do, with people she never talked to. Mention of letters from her father, since when he did so much as a single damn about her?

Finding amusement in Claude's tricks, -something that she was actually happy to see never change with Claude- learning herbology intently with Bernadetta, as if Bernie would actually ever leave her room, and then most curious of all: Dimitri.

"8/10 1180;

Dimitri asked me if I would like to train with him this coming Saturday, (8/16) I don't know quite what it is, but I always train well with him. He's quite a good teacher. I've actually managed to handle a sword quite well thanks to him.

Obviously, I accepted. He's always helpful with training, and he's actually someone who I never feel like I have to hold back against. It feels... wrong to say something like that, but... I'll just say Bernadetta definitely needs more practice before I give her a real sword, and if Linhardt would actually pick up a weapon, he could probably do well with it. He seems to be fixated with his spells however, one of life's many mysteries I suppose.

Dorothea actually saw everything happen, and was way too quick to ask when I'd go out on a date with him. Ha, as if. He's a great friend, but he knows where we stand. Besides, he never takes interest in women. I wonder if he has someone...

Thinking of Dorothea, I wonder if I should tell her that I don't like men. It's not as if she'd hate me for it. She's plenty accepting and as often I see her pining over Petra, she'd be a damn hypocrite to say anything of the sort to me. Maybe I'll shoot that question back at her next time she pokes fun at me, 'I'll get a date whenever you ask Petra out.'

Ha, she'd probably kill me after that, or be shocked enough that I could get a running start. Either way, it'd be funny.

I think I'll write to Father before going to bed. I'll make sure to study after that. Exam for Professor Manuela is coming up this Friday, so I need to make sure I'm prepared."

She reads the entry over again. Dimitri, a great friend? How in the hell was that possible? Dimitri hated her with every fibre of his being up until his death.

Then the next realization was there. Dimitri was alive. As was her father.

Her head feels light as the thought hits her. The question of "how?" pops up once again but she had given up trying to answer that. She supposed it made sense. She was in the past, their deaths had not occurred yet. Or... perhaps they never would, at least not in the way Edelgard knew them.

More thoughts hit her waves: "Where were her scars?" "What happened to her siblings?" "What about Rhea?" "Byleth questioned the Death Knight, perhaps he doesn't exist here; and furthermore, the Flame Emperor must not exist here either in that case." "What happened to Byleth?"

She hangs on the last question. Byleth was warm when she embraced her. In her Academy years, Byleth was cold to the touch. She had no heartbeat. Part of her wishes she would have pushed an ear to the professor's chest, but she imagined that would land her in a deeper ditch with her than she was already in.

"What happened to my wife?" She thinks aloud.

Silence hangs in the air, deafening her. For minutes, she thinks about her wife, and only her wife. Fear builds up within her as she wonders if her wife, not this, other-Byleth was safe. Even calling this Byleth that felt wrong. It was her wife. It felt that way.

"Perhaps I can answer that!"

A high-pitched voice breaks the silence, and elicits a scream out of Edelgard that she had not conjured in at least half a decade.

When her head snaps over to the strange voice, she sees a floating child in white, pink, and blue regalia. The girl's hair was a bright, vibrant green, and seemed to be longer than the girl herself, and familiar in an odd way.

Edelgard, at that particular moment, was no longer questioning her situation of landing in a different time, or what events led to her landing in a different time. Instead, the only thing she can think to herself is, "What the hell is happening anymore?"


	3. Chapter 3

Edelgard had fully given up on attempting to understand anything that was going on anymore. If travelling through time wasn't enough. A small floating child truly pushed her over the edge.

"Woah, woah. No need to scream at me," the child sasses Edelgard.

If she had the energy to, Edelgard imagined that she would be beyond angry, but, at this point, a certain numbness was beginning to set in for her.

"W-well, I- who are- ugh," Edelgard's words fail her as she tries to both explain herself, and ask the obvious question, her stammered by a broken, "What the hell is going on?"

The child, rather rudely, laughs as Edelgard limps back.

"Hehe, oh, where to start? Edelgard, correct?" The child asks once her laughter dies down.

Edelgard nods with a sigh.

"Good, I am Sothis," she speaks with pride, "and you~ are not where you belong."

Edelgard turns her head slowly to look at Sothis. She stares daggers into Sothis' emerald eyes, "You don't say?" She lets out another breath that she didn't realize she was holding. The name rang a bell. She knew the name, but she couldn't remember exactly where from. For a moment, she cycles through anything that would ring her bell, inevitably saying the word in her wife's voice in her head.

That is when it came to her.

This was no ordinary floating child, as if those existed, or any child at all.

This was a god.

"The Sothis? If I remember... Shouldn't you still be contained within my w-... Within Byleth?" Edelgard asks, hesitantly recalling what her wife had told her.

It was odd to hear, but it explained Byleth's bright emerald hair after being sucked into a trap during one of their battles. Byleth and Sothis had merged into one being, thus saving Byleth's life from everlasting purgatory.

"Well, yes and no, but technically everything is a yes and no, so, in your time, yes. In my time, no," Sothis speaks much too casually about this for Edelgard's taste. She spoke as if it was common knowledge, like Edelgard was stupid for not knowing such a thing.

It only served to anger her.

"In my time, yes, but in your time, no? What does that even mean!?" Edelgard starts to shout at the god.

"Jeez, chill, I'll get there," Sothis brushes the anger aside, though, noting in her head just how brave, or rather, stupid, Edelgard was for her willingness to yell at a god.

Edelgard's eyes squint, her teeth grind against themselves.

"Alright, so, you're not in your time. As in, somehow, someway, throughout the, literally endless amounts of strings of time in the entirety of being, you landed here, and based on what I can tell... You probably swapped places with the Edelgard in this time, so you're here, and she's over there, there being in your timeline."

Edelgard lets out a breath, imagining her anger flowing out with the air, "How does that even happen?"

Sothis takes a second to think on the question before shrugging it off, "Eh, who knows? Could be any number of things really."

Edelgard slumps over, any other questions she had were starting to seem unimportant, as if either even if she did get an answer, it wouldn't be useful, or like she wouldn't get a real answer at all.

"You mentioned that I was in your time's Byleth, correct?"

She nods.

"Ah, well, it could have something to do with that. There's an ability I have, called the Divine Pulse-"

"Using it, you can manipulate time. Reversing it, making sure something does, or doesn't happen," Edelgard beat her to explanation.

"Ah, so you know? Good, makes this easier to explain. To put it simply, that's one aspect of that power. As for myself, I can pulse time on a larger scale. My guess is that I performed a pulse at some point last night, and lo and behold, you ended up here," Sothis continues, the same non-chalantness starting to grate on Edelgard even further.

Edelgard looks up to her again, her glare weaker only out of a lack of energy, "Oh, so you made a mistake, and now I'm here? Well, fantastic, can you just fuck up again so I can go home!?"

Sothis finally drops her casual demeanour, "You know, for someone who needs help, you're being awfully rude. Gods make mistakes too, y'know. This has happened before, just... not on this scale. This type of a switch, just based on my placement in your time... Jeez, that'd have to be a-" She begins to trail off, whispering to herself, as she attempts to grasp the situation for herself.

Edelgard gives her a moment to collect her thoughts, as well as give herself a moment to calm herself. Eventually, however, she begins to lose her patience, and she finally asks, "Can you send me home, or not?"

Sothis snaps herself back to reality, "Oh! Well, yes?"

The "yes" was shaky at the very best. It lacked any confidence whatsoever.

"I don't like that 'yes'."

"Ugh, look, sending you back right now, is kind of like... shooting a bow from one end of the monastery, all the way over to the training fields. It's not just picking you up, and plopping you back down where you belong. Trust me, if it were that easy, you wouldn't have even woken up here. You'd still be home."

Anger gives way to sadness as the thought of being stuck in this time forever begins to take place, "So I'm trapped?"

"No! In fact, I think there's something you can do to help me help you," A sly smirk grows across Sothis' face, as she looks down to Edelgard.

She looks up, her head cocked to one side, "What is it?" her voice picks up a bit of hope.

"Well, in terms of the larger aspects, not a whole lot. However, due to how time as a whole works, you can drive your time, and my time closer together, depending on how long you're willing to take, there are three main things that I notice affect timelines most."

"What are they- wait wait, if you can use the Divine Pulse, couldn't you just wind back time, and fix all of this?" Edelgard realizes, and proceeds to question Sothis, her face lighting up for a brief moment.

"Like I said," Sothis' brow falls straight, "not that simple. I did that once, and his soul faded from his body. It killed both him, and this time's version of him. He just collapsed. His soul evaporated, not even I could explain it."

Edelgard doesn't want to think about that situation at all.

"So, unless you feel like experiencing a death even I can not see, I don't believe you want me using the Divine Pulse."

Edelgard nods weakly, the fear of a death such as that sticks in her mind, but she can not explain the fear in a way she can put into words.

"Please don't," she responds.

"Exactly, now, there are three things that can happen that will aid in moving the timelines closer together. The first, and probably biggest one, is birth, although, I imagine being that you have a wife, you don't like that idea."

Edelgard only shakes her head at that, "What else?"

"Two things that do a lot, but not as much, are love, not as in a fading love like two students sleeping together once, and never speaking again, but a true love, that is inseparable," The Goddess continues.

"Sounds difficult, but I think I have some ideas... What's the last?" She pulls a hand to her chin, and thinks of people for a moment, only a few come to mind, only one with certainty.

"Death," Sothis' voice flatly drops at the word. Her head dodges to the side, almost regretting mentioning it.

"O-oh."

Sothis nods, "Precisely, death is second only to birth. It's also the riskiest. The wrong person dies, and you drive the timelines farther apart."

"I'll do what I can to avoid it, not like it'll be easy though. Love, and birth... I know of a few people with children, more who are in love, but that seems rather fickle. Just so I'm sure, if two people who are in love in my time, or a child is born in this time are also present, or in love in my time, the timelines will get closer together, right?"

"Mmhmm, and with as far apart as the timelines are," Sothis raises a hand and rubs at her neck, chuckling a little, "you'd better get to work."

Edelgard sighs, and nods her head in agreement, "I agree, is there anything you can do to help me with all of this?"

"Well, the divine pulse is off limits, I'll say this, this timeline's Edelgard is a rather good person, but I can't speak of you of course," Sothis snickers.

Edelgard's brow falls flat at the sentiment, feeling slightly insulted by the insinuation, "And you're not omnipotent," she sighs to herself, burying her face in her hands.

"Nope! I can see time, and that's it. I can see everything from above, but it's really just seeing everything from afar. Not like I can read people's thoughts or anything. I do give really good moral support though," Sothis slows the last words down, almost as if to really drive the point home that Edelard was truly alone for this.

Edelgard's thoughts drive through a mix of emotions. First, there's despair, then resolve, a touch of anger, before her emotions die down and she feels partially numb.

"I'm sure that'll be plenty helpful," Edelgard's sarcasm was so palpable Sothis was quite sure that she could cut it with a knife.

"Sorry," Sothis smiles, clearly not truly sympathetic, "Better get to it!"

With that, Sothis fades away into the air, and Edelgard is alone once more. 

Edelgard does what she can to stow her emotions away. Trading everything she can for logic. She decides to start with the journal. This time's Edelgard seemed to enjoy matchmaking in her head, just going by skimming the journal, and the entry she read in regards to Dorothea "pining for" Petra.

_"Maybe that's the best place to start."_ She thinks to herself, walking over to the dresser.

She looks herself over, and realizes that the simple clothing she was wearing were much more suitable to relaxing at the end of the day, or perhaps sleeping in than walking around the academy, as such, she opens the dresser.

Within the dresser, she immediately spots her uniform. A flood of nostalgia comes back to her as she thinks of everything that happened within that uniform. All of the memories she made with her friends... Both living and dead.

She makes quick work of changing. Once her old uniform was on, she felt a certain confidence she hadn't felt in a long time.

It fits perfectly, at first this surprises her, until the realization of her not truly being in her own body comes to her. What reason would there be for the uniform to not fit her? Once finished, she looks, and checks a mirror in the corner.

Barring the temporary re-shock of her hair not being pure-white, she was rather happy with her looks. She hadn't even thought of the uniform in a long time, and part of her considers having it re-made once she returns home.

_"If I return home,"_ The thought invades her mind, completely without her permission.

She shakes her head at the thought; and re-affirms to herself that she will be getting home. She'll have the aid of a goddess, and a method to get home, there was no possible way she wasn't going to get home.

Silently, she hopes she's not lying to herself.

Once fully ready, and determining the time, realizing that she's got only fifteen minutes until the first class of the day is finished, she formulates a plan in her head.

She decides two things, first, she knew she was going to have to explore the Monastery. It was impossible to know what exactly would be different from her own time without experiencing it for herself. Secondly, she decided that she would ask Dorothea if she would like to join her for tea.

Edelgard wanted to apologize, and thank her friend at the very least. That would be the least she could do. She, of course, has another reason, and this same thought pops another idea into her mind, one that seems a touch more mischievous.

She was on the fence about it, however. It could play out very well, and get her just what she wants; however, if this timeline's Edelgard was wrong, it would back-fire hellishly.

As she leaves her room, Edelgard is greeted by the same sights as a decade before, a drab hallway, lines of doors on one side, and windows, filled in slotted wood.

Somehow, even this simple sight, and the little bit of the Monastery she can see fills her with a feeling made of equal parts nostalgia, and sorrow. Nostalgia for the friends and happy memories formed, and sorrow for the horrors she had seen at the same place.

The feelings and emotions freeze in her place for a moment as awe begins to form, before she shakes herself to reality, and starts her walk to the grounds of the Academy.

It was a short walk, and she managed to avoid seeing, or being seen by anyone; save for guards, or occasional faculty who thought nothing of her.

From what she could tell, based purely on memory, the layout, and general look of Garreg Mach wasn't different. It was the same marvel of architecture that it was in her time. The guards still wore the same armor and colors, and unless she was mistaken, she knew most everyone there.

There was, of course, the occasional face that she was quite confident that she had never seen before. She made a mental note to avoid them as best as possible, and hope and pray deeply that they didn't know her.

Inside, she knew it wasn't a flawless plan, but as it stood, it was the best she could come up with.

As she ventures around, eventually coming full circle back in front of the Dormitories, she was able to very quickly re-familiarize herself with the area. She had spent so long here, it would have surprised her if she wasn't able to, but she could never be too safe.

With perfect timing, she notices a small wave of students heading towards the dorms. There was a healthy mix of the houses throughout.

It felt so strange to her. Seeing everyone inter-mingling, and getting along. At first, her instincts were to take a defensive position before she realizes it wasn't necessary. For the first time, she could rest at the sight of her old friends, and once-enemies.

"Hey, Edelgard!" A voice in the crowd breaks out as it draws closer.

The voice is all too familiar, it was a baritone voice, full of strength; and once she saw the person it came from, her heart drops.

She freezes as he approaches her, but once he draws close enough, it's almost shocking to see him smile at her.

"I heard from Hubert something happened this morning, are you feeling alright?" Dimitri tilted his head as he asks, his voice softening by the end.

It took her a moment to get over her thoughts, to realize this was not the Dimitri that attempted to strike her down. **It was not the same Dimitri that she had killed.**

  
  



	4. Chapter 4

"I just think that something is wrong with Edelgard. She just wasn't acting like herself," Dorothea speaks softly, making sure that no one but Hubert could hear her. It was odd, definitely not something she was used to.

"You don't say," Hubert drags the words out and glares at Dorothea, "I thought that Lady Edelgard panicking naked in her bedroom was perfectly normal."

Dorothea's brow falls straight, and she shoots an intense glare at Hubert. 

"Can I be worried about our friend without getting sassed?" Dorothea asks after a few seconds of tense silence.

Hubert rolls his eyes with a sigh, "I make no promises."

"Ugh, can we just go check on Edelgard?" Dorothea begins walking before Hubert even has a chance to respond. Her pace was rather quick, just slower than a jog, only partially to give Hubert a chance to keep up.

She racks her mind as she walks, thanking the gods that Hubert was leaving his sass off the table for once. Just what has gotten into that girl? She was perfectly fine yesterday.

Her head tilts downward, and she brings a thumb and finger to her chin.

"Deep in thought, Detective Dorothea?" Hubert cackles.

After rescinding her thanks to the gods, she calls Hubert a bastard under her breath, and goes back to thinking about what could have triggered Edelgard's panic.

"You don't think she walked in on Byleth and-" She turns her head to Hubert, before he cuts her off.

"Doubtful, they're too careful, and, hell, even if, why would that make Lady Edelgard panic? Perhaps one of her siblings is sick? They're all quite close, if one of them was sick- well, no, surely she'd tell me about that."

"True. Her youngest sister is rather weak. Perhaps her mother?"

Hubert shakes his head, "Her mother's in perfect health, despite her age. She hasn't told me anything."

"Same here. It is just me or did she seem fine yesterday?"

"Outside of actually speaking to Linhardt, she was perfectly normal."

Dorothea cracks a chuckle at that one, "I think that's more odd for Linhardt, actually."

Silence overtakes them once more as they continue to walk. The situation truly escaped Dorothea's understanding. None of this made any sense to her. How could a girl go from completely normal to panicking in just a night? She had spoken to Edelgard just before she had gone to bed, and she was her normal smiling herself.

They had begun to walk down the stairs to the dormitories, when they saw a tall man with bright blonde hair walking towards them.

"Hey, there's Dimitri," Dorothea calls out, looking down to him.

"And there goes Edelgard," Hubert points out to the brunette walking, seemingly rather flustered. He looks back to Dimitri, noticing just how tense he looked.

They congregate at the bottom of the stairs. The same topic all on their minds, evident by their expressions alone.

"Good afternoon, Dimitri," Hubert bows his head, and only that.

"Good day, Hubert, I take it you saw what just happened," Dimitri looks to the ground, his voice shaky, as if a light fear had taken over him.

"We just got here, only saw Edelgard walk away. What'd we miss?" Dorothea asks.

"Well, where do I start? I saw her leaving her room, so I thought I would check on her. Bad idea apparently, it felt as if she was prepared for me to attack her. She held a stance like she was prepared to reach for a sword at any second. I tried to comfort her, but she wasn't having it. She stormed off, towards the greenhouse I believe."

Dorothea's eyes widen, "What the hell did you say?"

Dimitri is taken aback, "Dorothea, you know I would never say anything to hurt her. Dear gods, she's like a sister to me."

Dorothea bites her tongue, realizing just what she was insinuating, "Right, I'm sorry. Did she mention what happened?"

Dimitri shakes his head, "Not much. She started to mention nightmares, but then she started to talk to herself; next thing I knew she was getting angry. Then she ran off."

"Lovely, Lady Edelgard has gone mad," Hubert sighs to himself.

With a quick elbow to Hubert's side, Dorothea managed to get him back on track.

Hubert grunts, "I'll have you know, that was quite rude," he lets out a sigh. "We're having tea today at seven o'clock. I'll see what I can get out of her. Dorothea, she seemed comfortable around you. Would you go and check on her?"

She nods, "Good idea. Did you see where she went, Dimitri?"

Dimitri nods, finally cracking a small smile, "Yes, near the greenhouse I believe. Might have gone off to the markets. I've seen her go there when she needs to think before. I’ve got to, uh, meet up with someone; but please keep me updated."

Dorothea returns the smile, "Thanks, I will" and after a quick wave, jogs off towards the Marketplace.

Before she was even halfway to her destination, she noticed a slim figure with brunette hair sitting on the dock of the pond. At first, she doesn't notice it's Edelgard. She had never seen her just sitting there before, after all, she wasn't fond of water.

As she sat, Edelgard watched the gentle waves go back and forth. She eyed a couple of fish swimming through the water, each in its own school. She thought of her wife, and how much time she spent fishing. The memory of their first real get-away together runs through her mind. They had traveled to a small town just off the coast of The Adrestian Empire. It felt like every night for the entire week Byleth was able to catch a new exotic fish that Edelgard had never seen before.

She lets out a chuckle at herself, recalling how much fish they had both eaten that week. Edelgard never did get the heart to tell her wife she wasn't a big fan of seafood, and especially not for an entire week. Each night, she would grimace at the thought of more fish, until she saw Byleth smiling, and glowing at the prospect of another fish. She never understood how someone could be so happy because of fish, but the more she thought about it, the more she realized that it didn't matter. If it was making her wife that happy, then she should let it be, it wasn't a rare sight, her happy wife, but it was a sight Edelgard had fallen in love with.

It was a sight she wished she could see again.

"Edie?" Dorothea's soft voice interrupts her thoughts.

She jumps at first, not sure if it was someone attacking her, or something else. Her body relaxed once she realized who it was, "H-hi, Dorothea."

She takes a step closer, "Mind if I join you?"

Edelgard flashes her a weak smile, "Sure."

With that, Dorothea returned the smile, and sat down next to her. She allowed her feet to dangle over the pond, and had it been later in the day, she would have taken off her shoes and let her feet soak in the water, but she decided against doing anything that could soak her feet for the rest of the day..

"Did Dimitri say something? He told me you were upset with him," she chose her words carefully, making sure not to throw Dimitri under the carriage.

Edelgard opens her mouth to speak, but needs another moment to explain herself. She allows the silence to hang in the air for a moment before breaking it, "N-no. He didn't do anything. It's... It's really hard to explain."

Dorothea tilts her head, still lost, but willing to give her friend all the time she needed.

"If I can ask, aren't you, like, deathly afraid of water?" Dorothea says after a moment of watching Edelgard stare at the fish below her.

"Absolutely terrified of it."

Two questions pop into her mind, first being, "Well then, Edelgard, what the hell are doing next to a large pool of water?" and the second being, "Did Edelgard just admit she was afraid of water?" She asks neither, at least not the first in that tone.

"Then, forgive me for asking," she laughs, "Why are you sitting with your feet dangling over a deep pond?"

Edelgard lets out a breath through her nose, "It reminds me of someone special."

"Oh? And who would this special someone be? Do not tell me, does her Highness Edelgard von Hresvelg have a special someone?" Dorothea throws on her best stage voice, making sure to act atrociously.

Edelgard gives Dorothea a playful shove, "Oh shush," before letting a laugh, her first real laugh in a while.

"But, do you though?" Dorothea leans toward Edelgard again, dropping her voice, but still sounding a schoolgirl spreading gossip.

Edelgard leans her head back, and looks to the sky. With a sigh, she says, "Fine, you've caught me. But, please, don't tell anyone."

Dorothea feels her heart fill with excitement, "Oh my gods, who is he?"

She lets out a sigh mixed with a laugh, before realizing something. She thinks back to her journal, and devised a plan on the spot.

Edelgard grabs her own arm, and cowers into herself, "A-about that," she starts, hoping what little her timeline's Dorothea taught her would aid her. "Dorothea, can I trust you with something?"

Dorothea smiles, and rests a hand on her friend's shoulder, "Anything."

"I'm, uh... I'm gay," Her voice drops into a feigned shame, it felt odd to come to her friend again, but if this worked, it would be worth every second.

"You are?" Dorothea's eyes widen at the news, "Wait a minute you have a girlfriend!?" Her voice rises.

"Yes! Now shush! I-I don't really want anyone to know yet," Edelgard stammers, looking around to make sure no one heard.

"R-right, right, sorry!" Dorothea rubs the back of her neck, her cheeks heating up with shame.

Edelgard smiles at her, "You're alright. I just felt alone. I'm kind of afraid everyone would hate me." Edelgard eyes Dorothea, waiting for her response.

"Nah, I think you'd be okay. Besides... And, gods, I'm holding you to the same secrecy, I like girls too," Dorothea's cheeks heat up again, and she feels a weight lift off of her chest at finally being able to tell someone.

Edelgard's eyes light up, "Really? Well," Edelgard looks back down to the water, her voice lowering "that would explain some of the looks you give to Petra."

Dorothea freezes. Her face darkens into a deep red.

Edelgard laughs heavily into her fist, trying to stifle the noise, but not doing a good job of it in the slightest. She had no idea what to expect from Dorothea at that comment, but this was better than anything she could have imagined.

Dorothea shrinks before looking back to Edelgard, "If I did not find you like I did in your room this morning, I would push you into this lake."

Edelgard laughs harder, "So you do like her?"

Dorothea attempts to escape her friend's gaze, but it felt imposing, like no matter what she did she could never escape it, "Y-yes."

She finally manages to cease her laughter, and once doing so, she shines a genuine smile to Dorothea, "You know... I think she likes you too."

Dorothea's eyes become stars at those words, "You really think so? Wait, how do you know?"

Edelgard shrugs, "Eh, call it a hunch," she says, chuckling to herself.

Another silence, a different kind than the last, took over. Thoughts creep into both women's minds. They were largely similar, as both hoped that the songstress was going to reach the end of her pining.

Dorothea's heart raced further, as a question creeps up into her mind, one she was willing to ask, "Was it really that obvious?"

She feels her heart stop once she hears the question. Edelgard racks her mind for how to answer. It was a simple question, and one that should be easy to fake, but even so, it caught her off-guard, "Well, I don't think it was painfully obvious?" Her voice falters a bit.

Her friend lets out a sigh of relief, and Edelgard's fear lifts off of her.

Dorothea lets out a small laugh to herself, "You know, part of me wants to ask her out tonight."

Seeming to second guess herself, Dorothea bites her lip, and looks to Edelgard for guidance. Edelgard smiles at her, "I think that's a good idea."

With that, Dorothea's lips curl up, in a dumbfounded grin, and her cheeks redden at the thought.

Edelgard fully expected it to happen. In her experience, Dorothea was always someone who would become nervous, and only steel her nerves further. She would rarely hesitate, and when she wanted something, or in this case, someone, she was going to do all that she could to get it. Edelgard admired that about her friend, she never feared rejection, something that Edelgard always found herself scared of.

"Ha, to think I was going to come here to make sure you were okay. I wanted to help you, and now look at us," Dorothea chuckled, looking down to the pond, noticing a pair of fish that swam off from the rest of the school.

"Don't worry, Dorothea. It's good to have company. Besides," Edelgard smirks to herself, "sometimes the best way to help yourself, is to help someone else."

In Dorothea's chest, she can feel her heart warm. When Edelgard looks at Dorothea, she sees what was possibly the most genuine smile that Dorothea had ever worn. It's only contest was when her time's Dorothea said, "Yes" to Petra's proposal.

Once she had broken herself out of her trance of elation, she began to realize that she was going to be late for a test make-up. She feels her body tense, and she jumps up, nearly falling over into the water, but saving herself just in time, "Dammit, I have to make up an exam for Professor Manuela. Are you going to be alright?"

Edelgard nods, and lets her lips curl into a subtle smile, "I'll be okay. I'm just going to think for a little bit."

"Alright. Everything will be fine, Edie, I promise; and," excitement takes over her voice, "I'll let you know how things go with Petra!"

"Good, let me know what you plan on doing for your date," Edelgard laughs.

With that, Dorothea ran off to the Black Eagle classroom, once again leaving Edelgard alone with her thoughts. She struggled to return her thoughts to pleasant memories of her and her wife that would help her find peace with the situation. It didn't take her long to realize that it would help more if she had a plan to get home.

She stands, and looks over the water once more. It would be best if she wasn't interrupted again, and she knew of one place that no one in her time knew of. If everything about Garreg Mach was the same, surely this would be as well. She makes her way towards a building adjacent to the Armory; beginning to form thoughts as she does.

_"It would be best if I knew everyone's orientation. I know Dorothea and Petra now, hoping that goes well. That should be one step closer. The only one of my classmates I know who have children at home are, Caspar, and Mercedes. I don't know Caspar's wife, so he's out, Mercedes though... She married Sylvain. They had children, but not for years, and it really did take the war to bring them together. I guess they're out. Gods, I really haven't seen all of them in so long._

_"Bernadetta stayed single, Ferdinand and Hubert... I don't know what they are nowadays. Hubert refuses to tell me anything about their relationship, so I won't take that risk._

_"Damn it! What else could I do?"_

She nearly freezes at a new thought, _"Lysithea passed away from the complications of removing her crest."_ The memory pained her. She had gone through some illness, but within the week she was back, up, and perfectly normal, feeling better than she had.

More faces popped into her mind, and she grabs her temple, trying to stop her brain from thinking of anyone else, _"Linhardt was killed in battle, as was Annette and Leonie."_

She forces herself to keep walking, realizing that she was going to have to see them again. They would be here, there was no doubt about it. How would she even react to that? She had no idea. Part of her knows she would be overjoyed to see them alive again, but... How the hell could she even explain that?

A twisted thought intrudes her mind, _"No! I can't kill them. I saw them die once, I couldn't do that to them. Even if I could, killing anyone is too risky here. It'll be hard to get home from a damned dungeon."_

More names run through her mind, more names of the dead some of whom, she herself killed, but she forces them out of her mind. She feels chills go up her spine, and she lets her thoughts wash away as she finishes her walk to her old hiding spot. She looks around, at first, she thought she heard someone, but it must have been nothing. She peaks around the building, the wall that came to its end, connecting to the building still seemed to leave a small alley around the back.

Just as she begins to push herself past a bush to sneak into the alley, she hears voices again, somehow louder than before. She looks around, not trying to understand what they're saying, instead just attempting to find out where they were.

A small bit of laughter, and she realizes, the voices came from the alley itself.

Edelgard pushes further, keeping herself quiet as possible, and listens in.

"Perhaps I can help us both relax?" A man says. The voice was familiar, but Edelgard had trouble placing it.

A small chuckle from the voice of a woman, "And just how do you expect to do that? We don't have much time." The voice was unmistakable; and when she hears a low moan from around the corner, she feels fury begin to rise up inside of her.

"Ha, I guess I'll have to keep you wanting me, until tonight."

Edelgard slowly peaks around the corner, and there, Byleth and Dimitri stood. Edelgard's eyes were forced wide open by the sight. She had looked around just in time for the two to meet in a kiss, and for Dimitri to slide his hand underneath Byleth's shorts. She wanted to jump out, stop it all from happening. This wasn't right.

That was her wife.

She feels her teeth grind against eachother, and a dull pain creeps up as she hears another moan break up the kiss, caused by a swift movement of Dimitri's hand.

Edelgard immediately turns around, and runs, kicking up loose dirt as she does.

"What was that!?"

Just before she was out of earshot, she heard scuffling, but before either of the couple could look around to see her, she was long gone. 

Her body moved on it's own. Her legs carried her to room, but if she was honest, she had no idea how the hell she got there. She was blind with rage, all she could see was red. When she recognized that she was in her room, she stepped in, trying to take breaths to calm herself, but her rage took over, and with a distorted scream, she slammed the door behind her. The slam felt as if it would echo throughout the entire monastery; but frankly, Edelgard couldn't be bothered to give a damn.

Incoherent enraged babbles filled the air around her, and before she could form another thought, the meat of her fist was slamming against the wall by her bed. She didn't recognize the pain, only the feeling of her fist hitting the wall over and over again.

With time, she pushed herself away from the wall, and let out another scream, louder than the last. When it drew to a close, she felt her balance fall from under her, and she brought herself to the ground. Her breathing was ragged, and all she could see in her mind was that sight of Byleth kissing Dimitri with his fingers inside of her.

Despite how hard she tried, the thought refused to leave her mind. She hugs her knees close to her and shouts into her flawless legs. Of course they were flawless, why wouldn't they be?

The reality she was trapped in was fucked beyond her recognition. Her body was immaculate, all of her friends were alive, and her greatest enemy was apparently her closest friend. It was all just perfect.

Minutes passed before Edelgard's rage left her. It left in small amounts. It would wane, and then come back stronger, at first. Until, a new thought had managed to creep into her mind, and it was one that she was much happier with. She clinged to the thought, stretching it out in her mind until she could feel her own body react to it. At first, it was just her lips that curled into a cruel grin, and then her body began to warm, and with time she felt herself become somewhat aroused by the sadistic thought.

She hadn't even noticed that Sothis had been sitting there.

Sothis was slow to speak, she allowed another minute to pass before finally saying, "They're the only two who know of that spot here. I've spotted them getting it on there quite a bit. If I had known you were going there, I would have warned you." 

"And you had how long with me just sitting there, wondering who in the hell would be back there?" Edelgard didn't look up. 

"Heh, I know humans well enough to know that it would have stirred your curiousity more; and frankly, I can't be bothered to lie to you." 

Silence strains itself in the air. Only Edelgard's ragged breathing produced any noise. 

"Sothis?" Edelgard calls out, unable to see her with her face dug in between her legs.

"Yes?" Sothis sounded partially annoyed, but another emotion was creeping into her voice, and it was one that Edelgard was beginning to enjoy.

Sothis' heart skipped when she comprehended the words: "You said death would draw the timelines closer, yes?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for taking so long between chapters! Ran into a major bout of writer's block with this for whatever reason. But it's here! (and twice the length of the last chapters if that's anything at all.)
> 
> I'm hoping things will start picking up and I'll be able to get the next chapter out much more quickly!


	5. Chapter 5

"Edelgard, I really need you to _think_ about what you're asking me," Sothis' voice fell flat, a touch of fear beginning to trace her voice.

"Who's to say that I haven't?" Edelgard looks up from her legs, her eyes looked as if they belonged to a dead woman.

Sothis looks down, shutting her eyes and thinking. Edelgard watches her sit like this for a minute, and with time, Sothis looks up and meets Edelgard's gaze, "You realize you're in a different time, right? This time's Byleth is not your time's Byleth. Because I feel as if you've missed that. Your wife is at your home, probably worried about you, and trying to find out just where you are, you know this correct?"

Edelgard takes her time in responding, "I am fully aware."

The goddess' head falls, and she answers the question, "Yes. Death, of the right person, will draw our times closer together."

"Good, was that so hard?" Edelgard smirks.

Sothis stares at her, gritting her teeth. Sothis gets off the desk she had been sitting on, and says, "I believe I told you about the Divine Pulse, correct? Do you remember what would happen if I used it?" Her tone was low, and she speaks slowly.

"Yes, I do."

"Then, little Edelgard, do us both a favor, _and watch your tongue_ ," each word was deliberate, and crawled into Edelgard's head, where they echoed there for some time. It took Edelgard a moment to realize once again just who she was talking to. It was true, with no effort on Sothis' part, she could easily kill her. Edelgard grits her own teeth, attempting to check her emotions. 

Sothis lets out a huff through her nose, "If you're set on this, I hope you have a plan. If you get caught, I can't help you."

Edelgard gives herself a moment to think on that. She had a plan, but at it's current moment, it was beyond simple. The plan was: "Kill Dimitri." But beyond that, she had no details of just how she would get herself to that point. 

_"I won't be able to kill him here. Too many people are around. I don't have The Flame Emperor disguise here. I need to get that. That will make everything much easier._

_"When was I training with him? Saturday? I'll look back at the journal later. If it is Saturday, then perhaps with a touch of golden incentive, I can enlist the help of some bandits. It won't be the army I had in the past, but they should be able to do something."_

"In my time, there was a bandit camp East of the Monastery, is it here in this time?" Edelgard looks back up Sothis, forming an idea as she spoke.

Sothis thinks about the surroundings of the Monastery for a moment, before responding, "No. Closest one is North. They're not especially nice, even as bandits go."

Edelgard grins cruelly to herself, "Lovely."

With that information, she shapes the plan in her head. In her head, the meaner the bandits, the better. In her experience, bandits with fewer morals were easier to buy. They never thought, and when it came to her plan, she needed just that. They would leave the thinking to her. She laughs to herself at that. It wasn't as if bandits were ever keen on thinking beyond which village they would raid next, or what road they would sit out by and wait for carriages to rob. Part of her fears that they'll find a way to mess her simple plan up. 

She manages to get something rough within her head. She knew that with time, it would refine itself. Her plans often did that. Her mind would work on them in every spare moment, and within a day or so, she would have what was potentially the plan that would lead her to whatever she desired.

Her mind considered that bandits were not good for gentle tasks, and with her desire to kill Dimitri herself, she knew that she would have to have to drill the no-kill order into their heads repeatedly. 

Part of her knows that it would be a better idea to let the bandits kill Dimitri, it would be easier that way. There would be so much less risk, but a more powerful part of her mind, no, her heart screams that the bandits can not be allowed to kill him. If they do that, she won't be able to.

The sight of Dimitri touching her wife breaks into her mind once more, and she feels her anger surface once more. Her world had just begun to regain its color, but with the sight in her mind, once again, she sees only various shades of red.

She begins to envision herself fulfilling her plan. She sees her axe lay into Dimitri's skull. She sees the crimson leaks from his head as his cold body hits the ground. The vision brings a sick smile to her face.

A cackle breaks from her mouth as the scene plays in her head again. She doesn't notice Sothis standing there, looking at her with judging eyes.

Another piece of her plan falls into place. The time.

A knock on the door breaks her from the trance she had set herself in. Her vision regains its full-color, and she finally sees Sothis look at her one more time, before vanishing seemingly into thin air.

"Lady Edelgard?"

Edelgard smirks to herself, it was just the man she needed.

"Come in, Hubert."

The door opens, and the tall dark-haired man enters the room, "Good day, Lady Edelgard, how are you feeling?"

She flashes him a smile, with two-shades of innocence, "I'm doing much better. At least, partially. I've made a discovery, Hubert. Close the door."

Hubert stiffens at that. He does as she says, before speaking, "Had I not come here because I heard your screaming, that would be a touch less worrying. That being said, you may color me intrigued."

"Good," She looks him in the eye, her piercing gaze triggering something in Hubert that she had not seen in a long time. "I was looking for a place to collect my thoughts. I know of a small opening behind some bushes behind a building near the armory, you see. I decided it would be a decent place to be left alone. Well, I wasn't alone. I discovered someone there."

Hubert's face speaks for him, partial shock, with partial contentment that Edelgard found out herself.

"Professor Byleth and-"

"Dimitri. Yes. Right in the act, as well," Her words become laced with rage.

Hubert nods, "I will admit, Lady Edelgard, I have known for some time. As has Dorothea. We decided, due to our positions, to not say anything. I believe him to be a better person than that, but I am aware that he could have terrible things happen to Dorothea, and he's close enough with you, that I feared you would not believe me."

Edelgard freezes, "I want you to strike that thought from your head, Hubert."

Hubert stammers at first, "I-I beg your pardon? Which thought?"

She takes a step closer to him, and her voice lowers, "Hubert, you are the only man here I trust. You've been with me my entire life. I do not know Dimitri like I know you, and he does know me like you."

Hubert grins, "Well, in that case. How shall we deal with this situation? Shall we go directly to Lady Rhea?"

"No, I will speak to her in time, but first I must do something. I'm forming that plan as we speak, dear friend. First, I have a request for you. You still sew, do you not?"

He nods, "I do, why do you ask?"

After stepping over to her desk, and grabbing a piece of paper, she grabs a thin brush, "Why else would I ask?"

Hubert shrugs, "Fair point, what do you need?"

"I will show in just a moment."

A few minutes pass before she finishes her sketch. It was a simple design, Hubert had figured that, including the armor, if he was really rushing, it would take two or three days. 

"Perhaps I am foolish for asking, but why do you need something such as this?" Hubert breaks the silence.

Edelgard smiles to herself, she knew she would need more proof, and such she says: "All in due time, Hubert. I will explain everything. You just need to give me time."

"Alright, I will take your word for it,” He says awkwardly. “I do believe there is a set of armor in the capital that matches your sketch, at least roughly. If I recall it had Adrestian colors, so it will take me one or two days to have everything ready, as long as I can retrieve that armor. It will be done soon," Hubert runs the time through his head. 

"Perfect, when can you leave for the capital?"

Hubert thinks of his schedule for a moment, "Friday, after Professor Manuela's exams. Will you be coming with me? I'm sure your family would love to see you."

That word breaks in her mind. It sits itself there, and refuses to budge. _Family_. It had been so long since she had seen them. She was just a child when her family had died. Older when her mother and father passed. It had been a decade since she was left alone. It runs chills down her spine, and freezes her thoughts.

"Lady Edelgard?" Hubert grabs her attention once more, bringing her back into reality.

With a shake of her head, "No, I won’t be able to come with you. I will give you a letter to give to them before you leave. There are other things here I must attend to over the weekend. Do apologize to them for me."

Hubert nods, slightly less shocked by the answer than he would usually be. She had not been acting normally all day, and a strange part of him was beginning to get used to it. A twisted part of him, tucked away inside of him, even began to enjoy it.

"I will make sure I do so," he thinks to himself for a moment, before asking, "Are we still on for tea today? No use making plans while angry."

"Of course. Oh, do forgive me, there's a lot on my mind. What time?"

Hubert chuckles to himself, "Of course, seven o'clock, my lady." 

"Thank you, I will see you then, in the meantime, I'm going to be leaving the Monastery for a few hours. Don’t worry, I will return in time for tea, I promise you that."

"I would hope so, Lady Edelgard, you've never missed before," Hubert smirks.

With that, Hubert bowed and left the room, leaving Edelgard alone with her thoughts. Her lips fall from a friendly smile to a flat line in an instant. Along with her mouth, her eyes lose any glimmer, and she returns to her mind.

" _She said the camp was North. Let's go see just how cruel these bandits really are,_ " She thinks to herself as she receives a small bag, and heads off to the stables.

As she makes her walk to the stables, she runs more ideas through her head; and she realizes that she’ll need to have Hubert steal her a Hresvelg stamp. Edelgard, as she leaves, makes sure to grab an axe as she leaves, even if she had no intention of using it, she could never feel too safe.


	6. Chapter 6

It had been some time since Edelgard had ridden this road. It had been some time since Edelgard had ridden alone. It wasn’t something she exactly missed. Loneliness was still eating her, and she found herself wishing that she were riding to her wife, instead of returning to Garreg Mach from a bandit encampment.

She turns her head, looking behind her and into the surrounding trees. She was unsure if it was out of anxiety or reality. She looks forward again, letting out a sigh as she does. She raises her hand to her horse’s neck, gently patting her. 

Upon reaching the stables, she was shocked to see what horse awaited her. What she expected was a chestnut stallion, whom she remembered buying after her last horse died. Instead she was greeted by a white mare, which she had named Lily. Upon seeing her horse, she remembered riding her when she was young, before the pains of life were thrust at her.

Nostalgia flooded her upon seeing the horse, and for the first time in what felt like forever, she felt true un-panged happiness. She clings onto the memories as she strokes the horse’s neck.

She lets out a huff through her nose, before freezing. She had felt—almost the entire way back to Garreg Mach—that she had been watched. At first, she figured it was just a nervous tick. That her nerves and stresses were getting to her. Now it felt different. She could feel the eyes staring holes into her. She felt the presence of people behind her.

Edelgard lets out a gentle chuckle. She had to give the bandits credit. They were crude, honorless, and brutal, but they were quiet when they desired. These really were professionals. 

Comfort overtakes her at the feeling of being watched again. In ten years of being emperor, she learned how to know when she was being watched, and more so to know when she was being followed. Hubert was an excellent teacher for how to watch people without knowing, but he cited one thing. There were some people who had the gift of knowing when something was wrong. They knew exactly when they were being watched.

Edelgard prided herself as being one of them.

A smirk grows on her face as she thinks of what to say. She debates with herself on whether or not to lie to the bandits. She continues riding as she does, almost slowing down to let the bandits really keep pace with her.

She drops the reins from her right hand, and rests her fingers around the handle of her axe.

“ _ Why lie?” _ she thinks to herself, before she clears her throat and calls out, “I am Edelgard von Hresvelg, and I am going to Garreg Mach Monastery.”

She can feel the presence behind her freeze. She pulls her horse to a stop. She knew well enough the three questions they had. She would have asked them herself in the days of being the Flame Emperor. 

“And don’t fret,” she says as she swings her leg over her horse, and drops to the ground, “I have no intentions of disclosing your location to the Monastery.”

A few seconds pass before Edelgard begins to debate if she’s crazy. Then, slightly to her surprise, three shadows appear from the treeline, and reveal themselves to her. She quickly looks them all over. All three looked strong, and two of them had numerous scars they seemed to show off as trophies. The rightmost individual, however, lacked any signs of battle. His face spoke calm confidence, but his eyes betrayed the illusion.

The man in the middle walks forward a few paces, standing in front of his small group, “Well ‘en, little girl,” his voice was gruff, with a texture like gravel. Being called “little girl” would have usually pissed Edelgard off, but in this case it was just funny. Her lips part to fill the air in front of her with soft laughter, which the man ignored. “What the hell are you doin’ outside our camp then?”

“Scouting out a robust group of men such as yourself. You have decent numbers, you’re cruel enough to do the job I need done and you can sneak around decently. So far, you’re my top choice,” she steps closer to Lily, gently petting her neck with her left hand while her right still rests on her axe. She chuckles to herself, deciding it would be best to not disclose that they were the first and likely only group she would look at.

The man laughs, and the man at his right joins in. The man to his left remains silent. The man in the center speaks out through his laughter, “A kid wants to hire us!? HA! What do you want? Your boyfriend break your heart? You want us to knock some sense into ‘em?”

The man to his right joins, “Or ya lose a teddy bear?”

On a better day, she would have laughed off their mocking, on a mediocre day she might simply ignore it. It was the perfect blend of days. She eyes the men’s faces, the two who laughed looked familiar. It didn’t take her long to realize who they were. The man to her right she didn’t know at all.

He knew something about Edelgard was wrong. Something about the young woman was terrible, but he couldn’t place it. He did, however, know her name. He realized that Edelgard had been shaping him up the entire time. She gives him one last look before making her choice.

He looked like someone who could deliver a message.

She turns her eyes back to the man in the middle, and lets out a laugh. It was hearty despite being utterly fake, “Oh, of course not. I would never hire someone to do something so daft… I want you to kidnap the prince of Faerghus.”

Silence took over in an instant. Edelgard grinned at the newfound peace.

“She’s the Emperor’s daughter,” the once silent man finally spoke. He deliberately spoke with his chest, trying to make his voice sound deeper. Edelgard could hear a crack in his voice.

“Good to know that one of you listens,” Edelgard’s smirk grows, “The Emperor is indeed my father. Which means I’ve got money.  _ Lots of money. _ Enough to pay for a kidnapping and a little extra.”

The swordsman scoffs at her, “It also means you're worth a lot.”

Edelgard’s brow straightens, and she begins to draw her axe. She eyes the weapons of the three men. The middle held a mace, to his right was a sword, and to his left was an axe. Only the center of them had his weapon drawn.

“Let me guess… Been a while since you’ve held a woman hostage? I imagine you want to hold me for a few days, use me in every way possible, and then once you’ve had your fun, let the emperor know that you have his daughter? I imagine you’ll tell him, ‘send troops and we slit her throat.’ Something to that effect, right?” Edelgard’s voice lost its candor. She had seemed to be enjoying this up until now.

Two of the men laugh, and the middle speaks, “Ha! Aye, something like that.” The man to his left watched as Edelgard drew her axe. Her stance was something he had never seen. He hesitated as he drew his own weapon. He already knew what he was going to do, and he had a feeling that this strange daughter of the emperor knew everything the men were about to do.

“Ah, come on lass,” The swordsman cackled as he drew his blade, “We don’t want to hurt you, yet. Make this easy on yourself.”

Edelgard’s smile forced him into silence. It wasn’t a smile of confidence. It definitely wasn’t one of contentment. It was the smile of someone finally being able to unleash their rage.

“Heh, I’ll get her,” The middle man charged first. His mace held high against his head. He prepared to bring the weapon down on Edelgard. When he was a few feet away he started his swing. It was aimed for her shoulder. He had sworn she hadn’t moved an inch while he charged at her. By the time he started the downward swing, she was at his side. The mace only met air, and the weight of the weapon leaned him forward. He couldn’t have stopped the underside of her axe’s blade from sweeping his leg out from under him.

He hit the ground face first, and already he could feel blood begin to pool out of his nose. The world felt as if it were moving in slow-motion, for when he looked up, he could already see the girl moving at the swordsman. He made the mistake of taking a swipe at Edelgard. She knew he would. Bandits seldom defended themselves. She had held her axe in both hands in preparation. 

The blade of the sword only contacted the blunt side of the axe. Edelgard shoves the blade, pushing the bandit off balance. Instead of bringing the axe up in front of her opponent, she spun herself around and used the momentum to bring the axe up, and then right back down.

The swordsman had attempted to bring his blade upward, desperately trying to at least slow down Edelgard’s swing, but he was a second too slow. The sharp edge dug into his neck. The cut wasn’t clean, and that was just what Edelgard wanted. She witnessed the man’s eyes turn from anger, to fear, to despair in seconds. He witnessed the smile stay in place even as a splat of his own blood tainted her face.

The swing of his blade was stopped only when the side of it struck Edelgard in the back. It would have been only a sting, but she couldn’t feel it.

She raised a foot to his stomach, and kicked back as she pulled her axe out of his neck. He flopped back once freed from the steel, and proceeded to choke on his own blood. Edelgard gave a little pant, turning around to face the unscarred man before her. He still held his axe, but he held no combat stance. He stared at her in terror, although he attempted to keep a straight face.

“The fuck are you doin’!? Kill her!” The bandit on the ground had barely gotten to his knees before his fellow warrior was cut down before him.

He kept his axe down, and looked between Edelgard and the man leading him. Edelgard’s body was relaxed now, and although she panted, they both knew she still had fight left. And plenty of it.

When he finally made his choice, he dropped his axe, and raised his arms in the air. He drops to his knees, and keeps his eyes down.

“You damn coward!” The bandit finally raised to his feet. He stared daggers at his once-ally, “I swear! Once I get done with ‘er, I’ll beat ya to-”

His sentence was cut off by his own failure to pay attention. He hadn’t noticed Edelgard slip behind him, nor had he noticed when there was the grunt of lifting an axe above her head. By the time he could have known it would have been too late, and regardless he was too overcome with rage to even think of Edelgard.

She always knew that would be the death of him. Overcome with his own sense of loyalty to the bandit camp he stayed with, overcome with his own tainted sense of honor. The very idea that someone could surrender to one person was too out of his realm of possibility. 

His head was split down the middle by the heavy axe. The blade was only sharp enough to cut the skin, but once it hit bone it crushed whatever was beneath it. The axe was stopped just above his jaw, and instead of pulling her axe, Edelgard merely let go, and let his corpse flop to the ground with her axe still stuck inside of his head.

Edelgard stepped back, and gave herself a moment to catch her breath. After a moment passed, she looked to the only bandit with enough wits to surrender.

She laughs as she walks up to him, “I thought you looked smarter than those two. Tell me, what’s your name?”

“Will.”

She smirks to him, “Will? Alright, Will. I have a message I need you to deliver to Chief Kostas. In exchange you get to live. Oh! But first, for your own sake.”

Will didn’t have the time to look confused before Edelgard struck him in the nose. She had aimed carefully, and the impact sounded as if it snapped bone. He fell back and grabbed at his face, and swore loudly in pain.

Edelgard gives him a moment to recover, “We both know they’d kill you if they found out you surrendered without fighting.”

As solid as the reasoning was, it didn’t relieve the pain. It didn’t stop the blood that poured from his broken nose. He stays on the ground for a moment longer, in no rush. He knew that if he was still alive, he was needed, and could take his time. He turns his head away from Edelgard and spits out snot-tainted blood. After another few seconds, he shoved the back of his against his nose, it hurt like hell, but it stopped any more blood from leaking into his mouth, “Even if, don’t expect me to thank you.”

“I can live with that. Can you remember the message?” She crossed her arms, and stands tall over Will.

He rises up to stand, fumbling at first as he only uses one hand, “Aye, I guess so.”

Edelgard’s smile turns a degree crueler, “Good. I want you to tell Kostas that I have a job for him. You remember what I said about the prince of Faerghus? I meant it. I need your camp to kidnap Prince Dimitri. Not yet, however. I’ll approach him with the plan, and with me I’ll bring an advance payment. One thing though, Will. I don’t exist in this. I, the girl you and your fellow bandits chased? She doesn’t exist. Do I make myself clear?”

He nods, “So I’m supposed to deliver a message from no one?”

“Of course not, tell him that who you found was The Flame Emperor. Tell him The Flame Emperor will come to his camp within a week, after the moon rises. Tell him if he moves on Garreg Mach, moves camp, or does anything to avenge the two bandits here today, I will find him again, but I won’t come alone. I’ll bring along all of the Knights of Seiros that I can gather, and we will kill him, and everyone else in the camp. Not that I expect that to be necessary. Just so I  _ really _ have his attention. Tell him his advance payment will be enough gold to feast for a year, and the full payment will be enough to buy a damn castle.”

Will’s eyes had widened at the sound of gold. Edelgard wanted to laugh, but she kept her face in its twisted straightness. As smart as a bandit Will was, he was still a bandit. If there was something a bandit could never resist, it was money.

“Now go. Give him my message, but do remember Will,” Edelgard slows her words, and she takes a step closer to Will. Her eyes pierce his. He could feel her staring into his soul, almost as if she was trying to suck it out of him through his eyes, “Kostas can’t keep secrets. If you tell him who I am, I’ll know the moment I walk into your camp. If anyone learns who I truly am, I will kill you.”

He stumbles backwards, attempting fruitlessly to escape her gaze, but it was locked onto him, “Y-yes ma’am!”

“Then,  **go.** ”

With that, he turns and runs back the way he came. Edelgard allowed her posture to relax as he ran away, but she stared out until he disappeared over the horizon. She hears a whinny behind her. She turns on her heel back towards her horse. She smiles at her horse as she approaches her. She lays a hand on her neck, and gently whispers, “Good girl.”

As she gently pets her horse’s neck, she looks out over the scene before her. Two dead men, and the blood of the man who had run away tainted the ground. Save for the blood on her face, Edelgard was untouched. She pulls away from her horse, and walks to her axe, still lodged in the head of a bandit. While she walks she remembers a time when death disgusted her, and when the thought of having to kill someone was terrifying.

Now it felt so normal.

She tightly grips the handle of her axe, and lays a foot on the dead man’s head for leverage. With a bit of effort, she was able to free her weapon. She secures the axe on her hip after wiping what blood she could off on the dead bandit’s armor. Once finished, she turns around to her horse, and prepares to leave, before a twisted idea comes into her mind.

From that twisted idea, forms a brand new plan to get her even closer to home. She grins at the plan, and turns right back around. She steps over the corpse, and finds a strong tree. Once satisfied with her choice of oak, she looks around the tree, finding it suitably thick and wide. She looks over her shoulders in both directions where the path went. She supported there was no one for miles.

Once she felt enough, she got the best grip she could get with the tree. She felt the bark leave tiny splinters on her fingers, but they would be easy enough to get rid of. What came next however, would not be so simple.

She draws her body back, leaning all of her weight back and holding her legs steadfast. She shuts her eyes, figuring it would be better if she didn’t know how quickly it was coming. She gave herself one moment to steel her nerves, and once she felt prepared…

She thrust her head forward.


	7. Chapter 7

Dorothea’s head knocked against the desk with a soft thud. The sound echoed through the nearly-empty classroom, and the only other person in the room looked up with pity. She dropped her quill next to her hand, and slid the small stack of papers in front of her. A long sigh escapes her, and she calls out, “I’m finished Professor.”

“That bad, hm?” Maneula laughed as she tucked away the leather flask she had been sneaking sips from for the past hour. With a touch more effort than should have been needed, she stood and walked in front of Dorothea. She picked up the papers and flicked through them, skimming the answers to see how bad the damage might be.

“Battle strategies aren’t exactly my strong point, Professor,” Dorothea picked her head up. That was potentially her biggest understatement of the year. She wasn’t a fantastic test-taker by any means, but she was more than able to get by; except when it came to the subject of battle strategy. What took most of the other students half an hour to three quarters of one, took Dorothea an hour and a half. Manuela knew this would happen, and conveniently had something of terrible importance that she knew Dorothea would be able to do. 

By the time Dorothea had finished the task, every other student had finished the test, and they had moved on to the next topic. It wasn’t until minutes ago that Dorothea realized that Manuela had carefully planned that, and it would take forever for Dorothea to give her professor her full gratitude. 

“You’re not having too much trouble with Fodlan History are you?” Manuela asks as she sets the papers on her desk.

“None at all, actually,” Dorothea’s lips crept up, finally pushing past the pain of the exam, “Most of the people of importance have ballads of some kind, and when you remember what parts of those ballads aren’t, uh, what’s a proper term for it?”

“Embellished?” Maneula offers. 

Both women share a laugh at that, before Dorothea responds, “I think the writers prefer ‘enhanced,’ actually.” 

The laughter fades, and leaves a touch of pleasant silence between both women. Neither of them hastened to fill the silence, it had been some time since they had a moment alone together. It felt odd, and far different from the times at the Opera Houses, and shared quarters. 

As the silence continued to pluck the air, Dorothea’s thoughts began to wander. A sudden bout of nervousness comes over her. She told Edelgard her plans for that day, but now that she was really thinking about it, her worry had increased tenfold. Manuela’s eyes narrowed at Dorothea, like she was trying to read her. 

“Is everything alright, Dorothea?” Manuela gave Dorothea a little under half a minute to say something, only to find that Dorothea stayed silent.  


Dorothea shook her head back to reality, “Oh, yes! It’s just uh,” she begins to stammer her words together, before taking a breath as the realization strikes her. This wasn’t her father. It was Manuela. “I was thinking of asking someone on a date.”

Manuela’s eyebrows raised in surprise, before her lips curled up into a genuine smile, “Oh? And who might this someone be?”

Dorothea’s cheeks turn a shade more red, and her eyes avoid her professor for a moment, “Petra.”

The professor let out a howl of laughter before quickly saying, “It’s about time!” 

With that, Dorothea’s face became as red as a rose. She feels herself shrinking as she whispers, “Gods, was it really that obvious?”

Manuela calms her laughter before taking a few steps closer to Dorothea, resting a hand on her shoulder. The gesture was comforting for a moment, before it began to feel almost like pity as Dorothea’s professor spoke, “Dorothea, dear, I have seen you hide a great deal of emotions. I’ve seen you hide wanting to attack people, fighting back tears, and even facing terror with a face of bravery. As tremendous of an actor as you are, my dear Dorothea. Love is something you can not hide in the slightest.”

The compliment felt backhanded. Between embarrassment, and now a slightly different fear: Petra knowing and thinking that Dorothea was strange. She felt like a damn fool. 

She tries fruitlessly to come up with some witty retort, or just something,  _ anything _ to say, but her words ultimately fail her. She hears Manuela laugh once again above her, “If it is any consolation, I do believe that Petra feels the same way.”

At that, Dorothea’s embarrassment begins to fade, and she manages a smile. Her resolve floods back into her, and she suddenly feels ready once again. Her cheeks slowly return to their original color, and she asks, “She’s on Watch today, right?”

Manuela’s laughter had faded, and now her smile was that same one Dorothea knew from back in their days as songstresses. It was the smile before Manuela wished Dorothea luck on a performance. It was the smile that always let Dorothea know that everything would be alright. Manuela cocks her head up, and thinks on it for a moment, “Yes, I believe she’ll be done in fifteen minutes or so.”

Manuela looks back to Dorothea, who was desperately trying and failing to keep herself from beaming. She felt oddly proud of the girl. A strange sort of pride like a mother would have for her child.

With that, Dorothea stood up and started for the door, “Thank you, Professor!” She walked with a strong pep in her step, nearing an accidental jog. Manuela sat back at her desk, muttering wishes of good lunch and turning back the flask she had so carefully hidden. 

Dorothea had already rounded the corner by then, not only missing the drink, but missing a pair of medical staff running in a near panic into the classroom. Even if she had seen them, it was more than likely she would have ignored them, not out of any ill will, but instead out of distraction. A mix of pure bliss and nervous excitement.

Not only did Dorothea miss the pair run into the room, but she missed the quick sentences informing Manuela of what was going on. Manuela’s eyes widened, nearly failing to grab a bag at her desk, she nearly threw her chair back onto the floor when she stood up. It turned to a run as an odd and sudden sobriety cleared her mind.

What was now a trio ran through Garreg Mach, clearing people out of the way either by yelling or if they were too slow, shoving them out of the way. A quick shout of an apology was all they would ever get in solace. Within a minute and a half they were at Garreg Mach’s front gate. One of the medics was newer, and was subsequently terrified of what he saw. A white horse, slightly spooked by all the commotion was nothing, but the girl who leaned against it was horror.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am truly sorry for the long delay. Another bad bout of writer's block, and this chapter gave me hell. I know that seems dumb because it's so short, but I put this thing through two re-writes, and then finally realized that I needed to cut a decent portion of it. I also got busy with college, so that didn't help. The next chapter is actually nearly done though, so I'm gonna push it through some edits, and make sure I'm comfortable with it, and then it will be posted. Should be up one week from this chapter.
> 
> Also, Conrad6136, thank you for proofreading and the recommendations. Massive help. I appreciate you :)


	8. Chapter 8

Edelgard’s forehead gushed blood, half of her face covered in the liquid. Her brunette hair and arms were caked in crimson. The medic swore quietly to himself, before the small team allowed instinct and training to take over. The two assistants supported Edelgard’s weight, at Manuela’s command. She called for on-site medical attention, fearing how long it had been since the injury. Manuela ran some potential injuries that could have stemmed from gash through her head, and looked her over. The only wound seemed to be on her face. She feared a concussion. 

The pair of medics lowered Edelgard to the ground, slowly, and had her sitting up. Manuela called for a bottle of some kind of medicine, Edelgard couldn’t make out what. Her brain had been beating in her head ever since the injury. After Manuela forced the bottle to Edelgard’s mouth, she tilted it up. Bitter liquid poured into her mouth. Her first impulse was to spit it out, but she recognized the medicine, and knew the good it would do. She forced herself to swallow, and then let the rest of the procedure take place.

Manuela grabbed a tome from her bag, and cast a slower healing spell directly on Edelgard’s head. A soft green glow emanated from her head, and made it feel light. She felt her mind go for numb for a moment, before her vision began to blur. Everything she felt was vague, lacking any definition. She felt an upwards motion after being laid down. She thought she could see a tall thin figure approaching, a dark silhouette with panicked movements. By the time she could have guessed who it was, she lost awareness completely, and was engulfed by a forceful sleep.

* * *

Edelgard stood, hunched over a map of the local area. She ran a list through her mind of recent searches, every section of the map had been searched twice this year alone, and each nearby village sent in bi-weekly reports of any unusual visitors. Going four years back, no report of a woman with bright emerald hair had come in. It almost pissed her off, but anymore the anger was subsiding, and was being replaced by disheartenment.

A sharp knocking at the door rang through the room. Through the door, a woman yelled, “Search party! Returning for report!”

”Come in,” Edelgard yelled back. She swept her pearl locks out of her face before the large doors swung open, and a trio filed through: Ferdinand, Caspar, and Lysithea. A subtle smile traced across Edelgard’s face as the sight of her friends. For a moment she forgot what they were there for. Another second passed, however, and she was back to business. 

”Anything to report?” Edelgard stood straight, her back felt odd after being hunched over seemingly all day.

”Besides Caspar being _terrible_ for a search party? Not a thing,” Ferdinand was the first to speak up. He cracked a chuckle as he looked over to see Caspar prominently displaying his middle finger.

”Barring the first part, what he said,” Caspar started, “nothing but grass and fresh horse shit for miles.”

By now Edelgard was massaging her temple, her eyes had shut themselves. Search party morale had been on the decline for some time, but it always gave whomever searched the chance to be away from the fight. Take away usual duties for something that was easier. Anymore, the search parties stopped appreciating it. 

She lets out a sigh, before waving a hand through the air, “Caspar, Ferdinand, go get some food and rest. Lysithea I wanted to talk to you if you have the time.”

”Of course,” Lysithea walked further in, and leaned against the table, curious if the map was what it was about. Caspar and Ferdinand turned and walked the opposite way, once out of sight, Lysithea turned her attention fully to Edelgard. “What did you need?”

Edelgard ran what she wanted to say through her head. There was so much she wanted to say. So many frustrations she wanted to air, so many tears she wanted to let loose, but she couldn’t burden Lysithea with all of them. Just two. “Was it really that bad?”

Lysithea shrugged and then sighed, “Yes and no. Usually no, but those two were at least other’s throats the entire time. Pretty sure Caspar just wants to be on the battlefield again, but Ferdinand was a lot clearer with what was getting him.”

The emperor cringed at the thought of what Ferdinand thought. Usually it would be nothing, she could shrug it off, but she had a feeling she knew what he thought. She questioned whether or not he’d have a point, “Said it was a waste of time?”

Lysithea let a breath out of her nose, and nodded, “Yes... And frankly, I’m starting to think he has a point.”

A pang hit Edelgard’s heart like a knife. She wanted to speak, argue against it. But she couldn’t. She wouldn’t dare give up hope, but it was becoming more painful by the day. Her heart ached every day. She opened her mouth, hoping that words would come out. Words that would convince Lysithea that this was worth it and more.

Lysithea sighed, “Tell me the truth, Edie. Why are you really looking for her?”

Her response was calculated. She had answered this question so many times. Her answer never changed, “I’ve said before, the profess-”

”Don’t give me that,” Lysithea cut the emperor off without a second thought, “I said tell me the truth. If this was purely strategic you’d have stopped by now. Damn it, Edelgard, it’s been over four years. Even if you were looking to give her a proper burial it’d be a waste by now.”

”I’m scared, and...” Edelgard nearly whispered, and ended up cutting herself off, fearful of admitting how she truly felt about the professor. She clenched her eyes shut, hoping that Lysithea would disappear. Of course, she didn’t.

With eyes wide, and full of surprise, Lysithea took a step back, “What? You, scared?”

A heavy breath escaped Edelgard, her voice tensed, “Yes. I’m scared. I’m afraid she’s gone forever. I’m afraid of the war. I’m afraid of losing all of you, and I’m fucking terrified of myself.”

Lysithea almost wanted to stop her. But suddenly she felt the urge to let her go. Let her air everything. She’d not seen Edelgard in so much pain since the experiments… Since the crest. “Yourself?” Lysithea quietly asked, that was perhaps the only part that confused her.

The emperor leans against the table again, resting what felt like overbearing weight, “I...I was thinking of how to handle defeat, a capture of this place if it came to it,” Edelgard began, starting to shrink as she recalled the idea, “My first idea was to set archers in the towers. Everyone in the front, last line of defense inside the walls. Then, when we were all set up… Burn it all.”

To say the least, the notion of such a plan was unsettling to Lysithea, “But, then no one would-”

”I know.”

”How did you even think of something like that?”

That was a question she didn’t quite know the answer to. She couldn’t possibly act on such a plan. It would kill everyone. Even thinking of the idea felt like betraying her friends.

”I-I have no idea; but I would rather hang than act on it. Byleth-The Professor… It feels like she kept me sane-kept me human. I’m afraid without her I’ll not only _think_ of those plans, but lose myself enough to act on them,” Edelgard felt colder with every word. She swore she could feel her heart’s ache expand tenfold as she continued.

Lysithea, in less than a second understood it all. She let out a laugh.

It almost infuriated Edelgard, someone laughing at her deepest fear. She wanted to scream at her. She glared at Lysithea, “That’s funny to you?!”

”No, it’s terrifying. But I got my reason,” She smiled at Edelgard, who turned from furious to confused. Lysithea stepped closer to her, and rested a hand on her shoulder, “You fell in love with her.”

Edelgard’s pale cheeks turned red in an instant. She couldn’t even deny it, but nevertheless she was afraid to admit it.

”She’s your reason to keep going forward. We went through the same thing, Edelgard. Those Who Slither,” The memories pained her, but she felt it important to speak of, “Those bastards treated us like animals. We had to be reminded we were human. I got my humanity back through my new family. All of you. The Professor is _your_ humanity.”

A tear rolled down Edelgard’s cheek. Lysithea really was the only one who could understand her fully.

Lysithea was a touch too realistic to be optimistic about this, however. She falters, before speaking again, “I won’t give up on her. I’ll help you however I can. It’s the least I can do. But in return, I want you to promise me something.”

Edelgard looks up to Lysithea, wiping the tear away, “What is it?”

Lysithea’s voice straightened, and her face deadened, “If we can’t find her, and you start acting on those twisted plans of your’s… Betraying all of us… We both know damn well I won’t be able to stop you. I know you. You’ll do anything to get what you see as right. I admire that, honestly. But, if you’re going to stab us in the back, I don’t want to see you fall. Start with me, but at least look me in the eye when you do it. Alright?”

Those final words sent shivers down Edelgard’s spine. She suddenly felt cold. A moment passes before she finally responds, “Alright. Thank you, Lysithea.”

* * *

Edelgard's memories played back to her as a long dream. She remembered times before the war, and during the war, but the ones she wished would have lingered were the memories of after the war. Time spent alone with her dearly beloved. Edelgard saw her wedding, the moment she eagerly called the best night of her life. She almost feared her life was flashing before her eyes until she woke up. She wished she hadn't awoken. Her memories were comfortable. She knew them well, knew what would happen. There was no uncertainty in a memory.

Of course, it did not help that she had once again woken up in a dark place that was eerily familiar, yet not quite known.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember how I said next week?
> 
> Never mind that.


End file.
